Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

Chapter Forty-Three

That night over supper at the house on Ivey Street, Melly said, "I worry so about Aunt PittyPat. She gets so scared living alone in that big old house."

Ashley said, "Someone could move in with her."

"True."

India didn't speak. She didn't want to move in with Aunt PittyPat but being a poor relation, she would have no choice if Ashley insisted.

Melly said, "We could move in with her and sell this house."

"Great idea, Sweetheart. I will go see Uncle Henry tomorrow after work and have him put this house on the market."

What Ashley was thinking was – 'Without having to pay on the loan on this house we would have a lot more money. Definitely enough for me to use a whore one more time a month or maybe twice more a month. Yes, that would be perfect. I could use one once a week.'

Once Ashley had abandoned the old ways, he felt a sense of freedom. Once he had stopped thinking of himself as the heir to Twelve Oaks and just a teller, it had been liberating. The men he worked with had never been gentlemen and had never pretended to be. There were a couple of men who loved to read as much as he did, and they had some invigorating discussions about books and poetry. Things he wanted to talk about. He didn't want to talk about the war or politics although he did still attend the Democratic Party meetings every Wednesday. He most certainly didn't want to talk about how good life had been before the war. Yes, life had been good before the war, but that life was over. They had stupidly thrown it all away. Thrown it away on what Lincoln might do. They should have waited and made Lincoln make the first move. They may have been able to keep their slaves for another twenty or thirty years. A month after he had gotten the job as a teller, he had decided he was going to live in this world. He was finding it wasn't a bad world once he stopped pretending to be a gentleman to himself. He like his coworkers could do what he wanted to do. He was so much more relaxed than he had ever been in his entire life. He truly was enjoying life now.

Ashley was no longer being ruled by what he should do or what he must do but by what he wanted to do. He had wanted to marry Scarlett because he had wanted to have her so much. Nonetheless he had let his father and Uncle Henry browbeat him into marrying Melly by preaching to him about honor and duty. He was not unhappy about that. Melly was the perfect wife for him except for the fact that she was not very sexually appealing but that had actually worked well considering they couldn't have relations.

Scarlett would have driven him crazy with all her chatter and her need to be entertained. As he had said in the library the day of the barbecue, Scarlett would have demanded too much of him. He could take Scarlett in small doses, but he would not like to live with her. He wanted to live a shadow puppet life. And now he was. He did his job at the bank, came home to his books, and when the urge got too great used a whore. Yes, he interacted with a lot of people in his job as a teller, but it was all very superficial. Just what he wanted.

Melly thought, 'That was easier than I thought. It will be fine. Aunt PittyPat can't live forever,' Melly looked at India and spitefully thought, 'But that bitter old maid just might.'

India thought, 'I don't want to move in with Aunt PittyPat, but I have no say in the matter. If only Stuart and I had been able to get married. We would have married at the start of the war if Scarlett hadn't stolen him away from me. My life is horrible because of Scarlett O'Hara.'

Melanie said, "Wonderful idea. I will talk to Aunt PittyPat tomorrow about us moving in with her." Melanie thought, 'Not that she can stop me. It is my house. Nobody can stop me from moving into Hamilton House.'

That was the first thought since Captain Butler's not too subtle threat that cheered Melanie up. Her next thought was, 'Without the loan payment maybe we can afford more new clothes. Nice! What's more we won't have to pay these extra servants. Just Cookie and Uncle Peter. Perfect. Yes. This is good.'

After supper was over Ashley said, "I am going for a walk."

Melly smiled brightly and knew where her husband was going. To use a whore. Until Captain Butler's revelations, Melly had actually thought he was going for a walk. But now she knew better. It was just as well. She certainly didn't want to suffer through doing her wifely duties. That thought made Melanie laugh. She agreed with Scarlett - let her husband get his needs met somewhere else. Ashley really was going for a walk that evening. He had started taking a walk fairly often so Melanie would not be suspicious when he went out at night.

The next day, two things happened. One was of a greater significance to Rhett and Scarlett than the other one. Gerry held his head up by himself and Calvin Hobbes came to the mansion to talk about tearing out the stairwell. Both Scarlett and Rhett were so excited about Gerry reaching that milestone. The other children did not understand why Gerry holding up his head was such a big deal, but they accepted that it was. Ella wisely didn't tell her parents that it wasn't the first time Gerry had held his head up. She knew that to know that fact would not have made either one of them happy.

When Calvin Hobbes came to the mansion both Rhett and Scarlett where there to talk to him about tearing out the stairwell. They had talked about some ideas and Calvin said, "I think I know what you want. I will start disassembling the staircase probably Wednesday or Thursday of next week."

Scarlett said, "No, you must draw us some pictures, so we know that you understood us correctly."

"Of course, Mrs. Butler. Give me a couple of days."

"Alright but please hurry we are anxious to get this taken care of."

"Of course, Mrs. Butler. Good day."

Calvin Hobbes left the mansion still not realizing what a pain the Butlers were going to be.

That afternoon Scarlett went in search of Rene Picard. He was still delivering pies for Merriwether's Bakery. When Scarlett saw him, she waved him down. She bought a couple of pies. She said, "Do you read French?"

"Oui, Mademoiselle. Not only am I French by birth, but I am a well-educated man of the South. Reading and speaking French was required to be considered a gentleman."

"Here," Scarlett handed Rene the cookbook that Rhett had bought in Paris. She flipped to the page that the croissant recipe was on. She said, "I know you can master this pastry and thus you will make a fortune. Also, if you need a taste tester let me know. My daughter and I will be happy to come over and taste the product."

"Croissants. Oui, that is a favorite in New Orleans, also."

"Good luck."

Rene was thinking, 'That was an awfully kind act by Scarlett. Maybe she truly is happy now. She is right. We can make a fortune selling croissants. I just didn't have a recipe. I will have to study this book for more ideas.'

Scarlett had considered asking Rene to learn how to make pralines, but she decided that was just too much temptation for her waistline. She had the copy of the croissant recipe that Rhett had translated for her, but she was not overly optimistic that her cook, Mrs. Cloud, was going to be any better at creating the light, fluffy pastry than Mrs. Snyder had been in London.

Three days later, Fanny, Hugh, and Scarlett were at Mr. Powe's office. When Mr. Powe had laid the papers out to sign Scarlett said, "I have decided to loan you two hundred and fifty dollars instead of just two hundred. You are going to have to install freight doors in order to get your goods more easily in and out of the store." She then signed the papers.

Scarlett handed them to Hugh, and he hesitated to take them. Hugh turned to Fanny and said, "I still don't think this is a good idea."

Fanny said, "It is a great idea. We will need more money after you and Anna Beth start having children."

"I guess you are right but what if something goes wrong."

Fanny sighed and said, "Nothing is going to go wrong."

Scarlett said, "Hugh, I think it is a good idea also. I drove by the location the other day and it is a perfect spot."

"Alright."

Hugh could not stand up to two such forceful women. One being his former boss and one being his big sister. He signed the papers. Mr. Powe handed Scarlett and Hugh each a copy of the contract. Fanny promptly took the papers from Hugh. The trio walked out of the lawyer's office. Outside Scarlett said, "Fanny, are you older than Hugh?"

"Yes, I am a year older than my brother. How did you know?"

"I could just tell. Goodbye."

Scarlett smiled as she drove home. She thought, 'Yes, Fanny has been bossing Hugh around all his life.'

A week after Rhett had threatened Melly, Scarlett sent her a note asking her to bring Beau over to play. Melly had turned her down by saying that they were in the process of packing. The family was moving into the Hamilton House. The truth was that Melly was never stepping foot into the mansion again. The thought of running into Captain Butler again terrified her.

Scarlett sent a note back asking for permission to stop by. Melanie had agreed and told her to come over any time but be sure to bring the children. Melanie felt she was safe from Captain Butler while she was in her own house. She wouldn't let him in.

A month ago, Melly had mentioned to Ashley that she thought Dr. Meade was wrong and that she could carry a baby without dying. Much to Melanie's surprise Ashley had said, "No, he isn't wrong. We will remain celibate until you go through the change of life."

"Of course, Dear."

Melanie had decided that Ashley's confidence in himself had grown over the last year. Melanie would have been right. Ashley's confidence had grown since he had quit being a sawmill manager. He now knew that him having to sell was the worst job for him. He also knew that him being someone's boss was loathsome to him. He didn't want to interact with other men that much. He had been offered the Head Teller position and even though he had turned it down, he was still proud he had been offered the position.

Ashley could do his current job very well and all the customers were always praising him. He could accept their praise because he knew it was true praise. In fact, he had several customers who would wait so he could wait on them. The other tellers would ask for his help when they were having a problem.

In the past when Melanie and Scarlett had praised him it was like sandpaper on his conceit because he knew it wasn't true and any day one or both of them were going to realize it. He guessed Scarlett finally had. He also decided Melly had always known what she was saying was false and had just been saying it to stroke his conceit.

What had also helped his confidence was all the praise the whores lavished on him. They made him feel like an excellent lover. He suspected they were just lying but nonetheless it made him feel good about his skills in the bed. They had even taught him some things to bring them both more pleasure.

The last thing that had helped his confidence was no longer having to pretend he was a gentleman – at least to himself. When he had heard the rumor about him using whores at the Silver Slipper, it was a liberating moment. Despite everyone believing he was a man who would use whores, he was still received everywhere he went. Therefore, when he had figured out, he could afford to use a whore every now and then with his profits from the sawmill he started using them. It gave him a perverse amusement that why he could afford to use whores was because Melly and Scarlett had bullied him into taking the manager job instead of going to New York where he would have been a success.

Ashley knew he had been failing as a gentleman and now that he wasn't trying to be a gentleman, he was certainly a lot happier and a lot more confident. Maybe Butler had been right to stop being a gentleman years ago and do what he wanted to do instead.